Sorry this is really grim but I'm panicking - extreme constipation

[MiscellaneousAssortment]

I've just come out of hosp after v bad acute pancreatitis which am still recovering from. I was in hosp 2 weeks and I didn't poo since the day before I went in by ambulance.

Anyway, I can't get the poo out. Will movicol help with the stuff that's stuck like concrete right near the bottom? I'm scares to keep taking it unless it works on the huge concrete stuff in the way. The last thing I need is an increased urge to push when I literally cannot get it out?

I'm so sorry it's grim and I'm desperate. The hospital just sent me home w senna and movicol and no advice and I'm terrified.

I so empathise with you. Have been there after pancreatitis myself but they would not let me leave hospital until I had done a poo. They gave me an enema but the first one didn't work. The second one did (TMI alert) but I spent an hour in the bathroom on the ward until it came out. The pain was awful, it was huge and the sweat was running off me. I felt faint and had to sit until I recovered. Then I just stood in the shower afterwards for ages until I felt clean.

Pancreatitis is the most panful thing ever. The consultat said that it is the worst pain they deal with. I was just flattened by it for weeks afterwards- exhausted, weak and still in lots of discomfort. Mine was caused by a gall stone that went into the duct of my pancreas. Eventually, I had my gall
bladder removed once my liver, kidneys and pancreas had settled down.

You must feel so relieved. Keep taking the three sachets of movicol I would say. Hope you feel better soon.

Sooo glad!

Yes the enema in the ER worked for me. They tried mineral oil first, which did not, and then a tap water enema, which did. I too was aghast at the amount of poo!

So glad you got some relief. Is it worth a chat with the helpful pharmacist about how much movicol to take?

Hi I have had pancreatitis for over 40 years . Pancreatitis and especially painkillers give you constipation. After the initial impact is cleared take 3 movicol a day til it is liquid you are passing then stop. Don't stop until you pass pure liquid as you can get overflow where the poo passes round the impaction and the only way you can clear it is to keep going with the movicol. Sorry

Ps pm me if you wish

Yay!
Dh was on Lactolouse(sp) when he was on painkillers after an accident.

God I feel ill now the adrenalin has gone. Bleughhhh.

I had stopped taking any of the tablets this afternoon as was too scared it would make it worse. In retrospect v bad idea!

Thank you all so so much. It says something about how desperate I was that I even wrote this thread as I'm the original pointless prude about this kind of thing. I'm a poo prude forced to act like a poo troll

Totally, sympathise. I struggled so badly after my daughters horrendous birth and pretty much went through what you've just been through. Now you've got things moving a bit, With the movicol, if it starts coming out runny, don't stop it! Sometimes if you've got a big blockage it is softening around the outside and therefore is runny but you may still have a blockage. Drink loads and loads and loads of water - all day long! Try to drink orange juice before meals and don't let it get to 4 days without going. Feet up on a stool or big pack of loo roll does help too when pushing

As above, too much Movicol does NOT cause impaction.

You probably have a lot more up there to get out.

I would suggest you start with 3 a day and assess if it's too much or too little. Now the concrete blockage has gone , 2-3 is likely to be the right amount.

The key is to take it every day without fail. The oxycodone will always cause you constipation, your body doesn't get used to it. Also you will not be able to overcome this by eating a high fibre diet, stick with the movicol.

Glad you are sorted. I get similar quite a lot and have to use the feet up, pressing around the outside. It is bloody painful and I always sweat like mad. It's a horrible thing to go through.

Miscellaneous I feel your pain re prudery. When I had my "incident" I was in a very small one bathroomed apartment of a dear friend...and his boyfriend I had just only met.

It says volumes about my maturity that I was able to quietly request he drive me to the hospital...a few years ago I would have thrown myself out the window and hoped the impact killed me.

Oh you poor thing, what a horrible, horrible time you have had :(

I am astounded they have let you out without sorting this out first (it's a known issue, so it's negligent of them).

Were you pushing to be discharged? Was the fear of being there over ruling the need to be there?

Definitely take 3x movicol for a while, don't give it the chance to block again. No idea where you read that it can cause impact, but that's rubbish.

One of the best things you can do for constipation is eat kiwi fruit every day... and the usual prunes, lentils, etc Oh and apples as they work like a bit of a 'corer'.

I hope you start to feel better soon
x

Glad you have had some relief... and as everyone has said.. keep taking the movicol.. I would say at LEAST 3 sachets a day. Doses for impaction can be as high as up to 12 a day.. my DS2 had to be un bunged in hospital (He has autism and can't tell when it gets bad so one time it really did) Movicol softens and breaks down the big lumps so you can get watery stuff breaking down the edges before the rest breaks down.. so keep taking it and drink gallons!

I have several strictures in my bowel (bloody miserable it is too) and have had several partial blockages as a result (currently in pain) and I have to take huge doses of movicol at times to get past the strictures. Plus enemas / suppositories so you have my full sympathy. The painkillers are vile in how badly they bung bowels up :(

I've had a few 'rush to the loo' moments this eve, but will continue w the movicol 3 a day to make sure I don't get a problem like that again any time soon (shudder).

How to I say it to the gp so it isn't underestimated and written down as 'mild constipation'? I get that kind of minimumisation alot as I tend to cope with everything on my own...

I think you just have to try to be factual with your GP. Something along the lines of 'The hospital didn't treat my bowel before I left so I ended up with serious constipation. I didn't go to the toilet for x days and that resulted in a very serious situation where I was in agonising pain and scard. I feared I would have to return to the hospital but I would have had to go by ambulance as I am still unable to sit up (and anything else you still can;t to). Given the type & amount of meds I'm on, I'm sure you can imagine the level of impaction & the pain I was in'.

Factual and not emotional. Just remember, it is serious and you need it on your medical record.

The phrase "impacted stool" carries a lot of weight, I've found!

So glad you have managed to start pooing. It must be such a relief.

You need to raise this with your gp I don't think you should have been discharged, sending you home on transport as you were so poorly does not sound like good practice. Do not let him fob it off as mild constipation explain that you were in agony and give him explicit details if you can bear it

Keep taking the movicol until you are sure there is nothing left. My friends dd had faecal impaction and was on movicol for months, she didn't like pooing. She would leak poo liquid as the blockage was so large. It took a long time to get her clear and movicol didn't hurt her. She is fine now and thankfully lost her fear of poo

This is sooo my area of expertise (sadly) as life-long constipated with additional factors added in as I have aged. Your GP should be able to feel (from your stomach) whether you still have a blockage (or a finger up the you know what). I live off Movical (now called Laxidose) and Dioctyl and any attempt to come off is met with severe pain, fissures, bleeding, etc which I have had all my life. Blockages I get rid of (over 2 days) with 10 Laxidose and a suppository each day .. you can kind of tell once you are empty I think.

Welcome to the poo club! Glad you sound a bit sorted ... just try not to let it happen again (if I go a day or 2 with no action I take laxatives as well ... I like Dulcoease) but you need to get the right drug combination for you.

Gp supposed to be phoning at some point this avo.

Am worried as its this conversation that will show whether I can get some proper medical care or whether am on my own.

It's all so complicated how do I explain the whole thing and get her helping me within a 5 min call?

Am worried as discharge letter was pretty to the point about why I ended up in such a mess, saying things like 'poorly managed on admission' etc... Don't want gp to be on the defensive :(

Surely anyone who has a) had such a serious illness and b) had constipation lasting for two weeks will be taken seriously! Don't sugar-coat it though. Its a very British trait to play down any illnesses or ailments, plus I think we're all used to making others feel more comfortable and therefore not going into too much detail. So give you doctor the full story - s/he will definitely have heard such torrid tales before. I'm glad you managed to 'go' last night. What a relief!

It's true, I'm rubbish at telling medics how I really am unless I've got off on the right foot with them from the beginning. I find it really hard as soon as it feels like am not being received in the right way, I fall to pieces instead of being able to pull it back on track.

Gp still hasn't called. The suspense is killing me! I haven't been able to rest properly as am worried I won't get the phone in time if I'm groggy and sleepy, but I'm feeling v rough from being properly alert since 3.... Bah humbug, surely they won't not call?

AND ds is going back to my parents tonight and I'm exerting energy on being alert for doc instead of snuggling with my baby :( my dad came down when this all happened, but my mum is desperate to have him back (she's not very independent), and so ds going til Monday. I feel rubbish as he's still really shaken up from me vanishing and being in hosp, and he is only just talking about it to me - which is a massively important part of him recovering. He went totally into himself and although everyone was saying he seemed fine, when he visited I could tell he was anything but fine, really brittle and overly smiley and not engaging with people properly, not relaxing into cuddles etc. I only saw him in the few days before I came home, and then just for a few mins each time as that's how long I could 'be mummy' for and not scare him...

Absolutely agree, don't downplay it at all. Say everything as it happened, it's not your fault that it wasn't managed properly and you are suffering. They should really have not let you home without a bowel movement first. They're obsessed with it when you're in there (did you have a hideous chart with helpful pictures? urgh). Hopefully this will improve as things get better. I took Fibogel which was very helpful and just made sure I ate plenty of fruit. Good luck with it all. And avoid coffee and alcohol for as long as you can (about a year in my case!).

Ah poor you. It is very hard for the kids, mine were 2 and 4 and I'd never been away from them before. Almost worse for you though. Try and sort out as much help as you can for the next few weeks, it takes a long time to recover. As LuluJakey (my experience almost exactly the same as that) says, you will feel very tired and weak for quite a long time. You will probably need to rest every afternoon, maybe at the same time as your ds? It's a bit much that the gp hasn't called you back, ring them first thing and insist that they talk to you, you need to get yourself sorted. Good luck.